


Undying

by theatreheathen



Category: Unwind Dystology - Neal Shusterman, connor - Fandom, lev - Fandom, nealshusterman, risa - Fandom, undivided, unwholly
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-14
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-21 04:14:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2454347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theatreheathen/pseuds/theatreheathen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What was left of Risa and Connor after they grew up, when they didn't have to live in fear of unwinding.<br/>...or do they?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What's Left Of Us But Ash And Dust

**Risa**

Risa never thought she could love someone.

That she could ever open up to anyone more than her name and maybe a few of her favorite things. After being stuck having to hide, and not just her existence, but her emotions and feelings. It’s unhealthy, she knows, but she was a ward kid, she was better off divided than taking up space. Connor Lassiter was never in her path, not until he barged in and demanded to stay. Her heart was stone, reserved and not for anyone but herself to do damage to. Stoho had made her tough, wise and not prone to let others in, but boy did that Lassiter boy see right through that. Now, some twenty odd years later Risa lay in bed with the once famous AWOL unwind. She could feel his eyes on her as she kept her eyes closed. She let them flutter open to look at him. A grin spread over his face quickly and she shrugged.

"You could just take a picture." She teased. "It will last longer."

Connor just shook his head at her words. "No, I'd rather look at the real thing." He reached over and rested it on her arm. "Plus I can't touch a photo..."

Risa just sighed at Connors comment. He always said things like that. At first it made Risa feel odd, like the two could never enjoy light flirty banter but now things were different and they could afford to humor each other. She smiled and leaned forward to peck his lips.

"Ew!" A young voice chimed in.

Pulling away from each other, the two adults found their little daughter in the bed. The toddler crawled forward, once everything was clear of kisses.

She pouted. “Hey, what about breakfast?”

Connor reached over and ruffled the little girls bed head. “Oh, we didn’t forget, we were just waiting for you to bring it to us in bed!”

The little girl giggled and pushed his hand away. “No!”

After his hand got shoved away, Conner quickly scooped her up, holding her in his arms. The toddler squealed in excitement and started to squirm. Risa knew that her husband loves to hold Cecily, tease and tickle her. He used to do it to herself all the time when they dated, had time to relax and not look over their shoulder. She smiled and watched Connor relentlessly tickle the girl in all the spots he knew were very ticklish.

"No?" Connor asked. "No you won't bring your lovely parents breakfast in bed? What good are you? You must face death by tickle monster!" He spoke in deep character voice.

The little girl began to squeal. "Never!" She giggled loudly. "Momma save me!"

Risa had pulled herself away from their playful words because of how much they shocked her. Why did that frighten her so? Yes it had been years since the unwind accord was banished but before then she'd told herself the possibility of kids would never be. How could she bring a child into the twisted world of unwinding? A cry broke her thoughts and she sighed, getting up from the bed scolding Connor and Cecily.

"Look what you two did, you woke up Ren." As she left the room, she heard there childish chuckles from being in trouble.

Risa was quick to get to Ren's room. She came up to the boys crib seeing his red face as he cried out. It seemed his mothers face was all he wanted to see before the boy began to coo. Risa bent and reached for the baby boy. She rested him in her arms and she bounced him lightly.

"Shhh," She kissed the top of the boys head. “Baby is just fine, mommy is right here.”

The little boy was quiet, with a few cooing sounds as he reached his small hands up to touch Risa’s long hair. She smiled down at her son, her head tilting slightly as she watched her son. Looking over the small childs features, the small resemblances to Connor and then the ones that resembled her. Though Connor always joked that Ren was his mini me, she knew that the boy looked more like her. It was the same with Cecily, where she took more of Connor's features. After a moment of bouncing the boy in her arms, she heard talking in the other room. Three voices? She left the nursery and wandered down the hall, the voices getting louder. Connor's she could hear, the other were male and female. Entering the living room she saw the faces of the unknown voices.

“There’s my little nephew!” The blond male laughed. “I’ve been wanting to see you, but me and Mira have been busy with our work.”

Connor stood with his arms over his chest, shaking his head. “It’s fine Lev, man we’re glad you weren't here with all the other five billion people that attacked the house to meet the new guy.”

Risa watched as the two boys continued their conversation about Lev and Miracolina’s work. The two had gone on to become the presidents of the corporation, Life Print, that now distribute to the medical fields, organ printers. They as well take care of the state kids, orphaned kids, kids that are down on their luck. Over time they became some what of a big deal, probably bigger than they were when Connor was known for being an AWOL. Their work single handedly took care of getting rid of unwinding, it made way for saving lives.

Miracolina stepped closer and she held her arms out. “Could I hold him Risa?”

Risa nodded with a smile. “Of course you can.”

Handing the child over to the other girl, Risa couldn't help but smile as the other girl beamed at being able to hold the boy.

She laughed lightly. “So, when will we be coming over to hold your child?”

Miracolina just laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, no.” She bounced the little boy and then made faces so the boy would give a grin.She kept talking. “I don’t think Lev wants kids. Trust me, I’ve tried to mention it, talked about Cecily...used you guys as an example...but, I don’t know.” She sighed. “Our work is really important to him, and so are the kids we work with, they kind of fill the need for a child up for us.”

“Okay, whatever you say.” Risa laughed. “But you have one, I will be the first to hold it.”

Mriacolina simply nodded, joining the their laughs together. However the girls attention got pulled to both Connor and Lev, as well as Cecily who must have come running in at the sound of Lev. When Risa takes in the excitement, she sees Lev holding Cecily in his arms and all three of them have smiles on their lips.

“We’re going to go take Cecily to school, and then we’ll be back.” Connor informed the two.

Risa nodded and pecked her husband and daughter’s cheek before they headed out the door with Cecily. Mircolina did the same with Lev and the two boys left with a gleeful Cecily.

 

* * *

 

  
The rest of the day was spent with Lev and Miracolina. It was a pleasure to have them back over, catching up on the way both couples were living their lives. It was exciting to know that the two of them would be stepping down from such a high title to be able to be normal young adults and just live life. They were thinking of moving into the neighborhood. Connor went on and on about how much Cecily was enjoying school and how excited he was that Risa gave him the boy that he wanted. She let him talk, thoughts buzzing through her head. That was what she did though, she enjoyed keeping to herself. Later the couples parted their ways and Risa and Connor went on to pick up their daughter from school. The entire drive the little girl sat in the back seat talking all about her day. All that her friends had giggled about and all the things that they told her about and the daily fun of second grade. Only when they got home did she start to talk about what she had learned in class. Cecily sat at the kitchen table as Connor and Risa began to prepare their dinner.

“History class was really interesting today, we learned new stuff. Mr. Graham taught us about the old days, like... when you were young.” She tilted her head to the side as she brushed her dolls hair.

Risa and Connor gave each other a look but they allowed the girl to keep talking.

“Oh, really? Hm, things were very different back then. Very, very different.” Connor commented.

Cecily nods. “Oh yeah, we read about that.”

Risa lets go of the spoon she had been using to stir the soup they were going to have for dinner. She turned to look at her daughter sitting at the table. The little girl, so innocent seemed to take no notice in her mothers worry. Before Risa could interrupt, the girl kept talking.

She shook her head. “We read about the government, how things were ran.” She shrugged. “There was a big bad group...I think it was Protective Citi...citizenship..I think. Or maybe it was something else. Oh, and there was a thing that parents made kids do…”

Risa’s eyes grew in horror as the child kept going. She can't know about that, Risa never wanted her daughter to find out about all that they had to go through. That the girls existence was never even a possibility until things changed. She tuned back into what her daughter said.

“It was so weird, You and daddy were in the book!” The little girl thought about the word and then she tilted her head. “Why were you and daddy in the history book?” She began to ask. “And would you and daddy ever un….uh, unwind me?”


	2. Chapter Two: Your Body's An Ocean, The Waves Are Crashing Down On Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will Connor and Risa explain undwinding to their child?

**Connor**

One of the key factors in falling in the love with Risa Ward was that she was tough. She didn’t take no for an answer and she took care of herself. The teen could have just accepted her fate and been unwound like the government wanted her to be. But like Connor, she fought back. So every time something bad happened to the two, she’d always want to fight, she’d never just stay quiet. Watching their daughter ask that question was probably the first time he’d ever seen the girl silenced. Guess it was his turn to parent for this lesson. He simply cleared his throat.

“No, no we would not.” He shook his head as he approached her, kneeling on his knee to be level with her. “We had to go through that and we would never give you or your brother up, because of how much we had to fight for you two. We never thought we’d get to have kids, and now that we have you, we love you to the ends of the earth and even beyond that.” Leaning in, he pecked her forehead. “Now put away your crayons and wash your hands, dinner is about ready.”

Cecily was content with his answer and obeyed him, by picking up the things on her placemat. Before she got up, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around Connor’s neck.

“I love you too Daddy.”

Then she hopped down from her chair and her small footsteps faded into the other room. Connor finally looked up to make eye contact his wife. He saw her lip tremble, he stood and crossed the kitchen over to her. He pulled her into him and she broke out into sobs.

“Shhh, shhh, she was bound to ask about it at some point.”

Risa was ridged even though Conor was holding her and trying to sooth her. He sighed.

"Look, just go lay down sweetheart, I'll make sure the kids eat."

He watched his wife nod and wiped at her eyes. The girl left the kitchen and Connor blew out a long sigh he didn't realize he was holding. Quickly he began to finish up their dinner and set the table. Cecily skipped back in and sat at her seat. He smiled and set her food down for her, then before sitting down with his own, he went and grabbed his son. He set him in his high chair and set his bowl in front of him. He then took his seat and watched his little girl as she ate.

"Where's momma?" The little girl asked while picking up her silverware.

Connor gave a small smile and shrugged. "Mommy wasn't feeling very good, so I told her to go take a nap."

"Like when I had a hurt tummy?"

"Just like when your tummy hurt." He grinned, picking up his silverware to eat.

The girl picked at her food. "I hope mommas tummy doesn't hurt."

“I hope so too baby girl.” Connor winked. “So, how was school today? Did you have fun?”

 

* * *

 

Later, after he had picked up the dishes on the table and he set them in the sink, loaded the dishwasher, did he return to his wife. The boy gained access on by knocking and hearing a little groan from Risa. He sighed and shoved open the door with his shoulder, entering the room slowly, to see his wife laying in the middle of their bed. Slowly he approached the side of the bed after closing the door.

“Risa, honney…”

The girl stuck her hand up to stop him, and Connor listened. Instead of saying anything else, he just crawled onto the bed and sat by her legs. He took a hold of one of them and began to massage them, like when she was in her wheelchair. This seemed to spark something in the girl, maybe it was sadness or a reminder of what they had gone through but she began to cry. It was silent and then her chest began to move and her body shook more violently. Connor shh’d her the best he could, rubbing her skin with delicate hands. It was something that calmed her down, a way he’d apologize to her in a way.

“Sweetie, she understands, she isn’t scared.”

Risa wiped at her eyes and she sniffed. “That’s not the point Connor.”

“Yes, yes it is. She’s young, she’s talked to us about it and if she mentions it again, we can tell her the truth and make sure shes understanding that we love her, and that unwinding is in the past.”

Risa remained quiet and Connor finished kneading the girls other leg and he crawled up on the bed and laid next to her. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he brought her in close and kissed her forehead.

“She’ll be just fine. We are fine, and have been for a long time now.” He smiled, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

He heard her take in a deep breath and then let it go. That, was progress. Usually when Risa got emotional it was really hard for her to talk to him at all. She’d shut down, not look or talk to him. Risa didn’t let people see her cry. He kissed her forehead once more and he felt her eyelashes flutter on his arm.

“Sleep, go ahead. I’ve got bedtime patrol under control.” He said with the corner of his lips turning up in a smirk.

Finally, the girl giggled and he felt accomplished.

“You’re such a nerd…” She trailed off as she pulled the blanket over her.

“Yeah,” Connor laughed as he got the doorway. “But I’m your nerd.”

After shutting the door and heading down a few doors to his daughters room, he scooped up his son and then nodded to Cecily.

“Go ahead and get ready for bed.”

Bouncing his son his arms, he rocked the small child to sleep. The corner of his lips turned up in a smile and he began to walk over to the nursery to lay him down. He sang softly to him a song, a prewar song, but one that stuck with Connor for the long run.

“Wake me up, when september….ends.” He sang softly as the child relaxed and drifted deeper into sleep after touching the mattress.

With the quick flip of the baby monitor switch, he stepped out of the room, only to bump into his daughter. She glanced up at him, holding out her pajamas to him.

“Pj’s! Pj’s!”

“Shhhh,” He put a finger to his lips. “You wake your mother or your brother you’ll have to put them back to sleep.” He joked and then walked along with his daughter back to her room,

After finally getting her into her pj’s, reading a story, checking for monsters, giving her a kiss and making sure her sheets were snug, he left the room by flicking the light switch to off. A huff like sigh left his lips as he heard the latch on the door close and he walked back to his and Risa’s room. Once there, he undressed to his boxers and crawled into bed with his wife. Snaking his arms around her waist he pulled her in, not caring if she stirred or waked. She mumbled softly and then her eyes fluttered open. He glanced down at her and shook his head. Risa sighed and pulled her arm free, began to idly draw over his skin. If he didn’t know any better, she was drawing over his old seams.

“You love me…” She whispered.

She was touching over his arm. The arm that used to belong to a boy with short temper and stupid tiger shark tattoo. Now, it was his own arm, thanks to the organ printers. He was able to remove Rolands, give his mother something of her son, and continue on with his life with his own skin. Her hands felt like fire and ice all at once on his skin. The things this girl did to him...

“With all of my parts.” He smirked. “With all of my parts, Risa Lassiter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, didn't want to post this till after I finished Undivided. It was great, I went through so many emotions! I totally didn't expect this to get as much a reaction as it did. But don't just leave a Kudos, comment! Tell me what you like and don't like, it's greatly appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this as soon as I finished Unwholly and I've had it just sitting around and thought what they hell, I'll post it the day Undivided comes out. That and the unwind fandom fic is so pathetic and needs to grow. With that, stay calm and stay whole. ;)


End file.
